Bother Of An Employee's Brother
by TheFrankMaster
Summary: FNIA series episode 2. When Zachary visits his younger brother Douglas for a few days, he can't help but notice the younger man's unusual optimism. Happy for his bro but worried about the sudden changes, Zach decides to look into the matter. He begins his investigation at the place where Douglas works: a popular restaurant featuring very advanced robots.
1. Just another night

**Bother Of An Employee's Brother**

 _Chapter one: Just another night_

 **Just over a week after the Maxwell incident**

"Nine…" Douglas groaned, his voice painful. "Ten…eleven…"

"Douglas Goodwin!"

The guard immediately looked over his shoulder to where the voice came from to find a female, anthropomorphic bear with rather formal clothing standing in the east doorway, giving him a stern look. Douglas' eyes widened as he quickly stood up from the floor while constantly eyeing the she-bear, who still glared at him with her arms crossed.

"Oh…hi, Fred," he mumbled.

"Douglas, were you doing push-ups again?" the other person reprimanded. "I thought I told you _not_ to overexert yourself while trying to gain more physical strength!"

"I know, Fred, I just…well…"

"You just…?"

"Uh…" the guard hesitantly said. "H-hey, I appreciate your worrying, but there's really no need to…"

"Yes there is. As your colleague and your friend, it's my duty to make sure that you won't be forced to lie in bed while suffering from myalgia." She suddenly gave a mischievous smirk that really didn't suit her. "And if I have to order Chica to tie you to your chair with duct tape for a few nights, so be it."

Douglas gave her a look that clarified just how much he believed her – which wasn't much. "You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't?" Freddy smirked. "Are you certain about that?"

Then, another female voice erupted, causing Douglas to jump. "This is something you don't see every day. Freddy is threatening our guard into taking a nap!" The voice sighed. "Can't say she's that good at threats, but she'll get there. Someday."

"Hey, Goldie," Douglas awkwardly greeted as a response. "Can I ask what you're doing under my desk?"

The owner of the voice chuckled, left her current spot and stood up, revealing what seemed to be a golden version of the other she-bear. "Something tells me you know the answer to that question."

"You're psychic," the guard guessed. Goldie shook her head.

"No, I just wanted to stop by the office. It's almost six, and since Freddy was here to yell at you…"

Douglas looked at the clock. 5:57 am. He quickly grabbed his security cap and put it on before turning back to the two girls.

"Almost time to go," he said. They nodded.

"I should get back to the stage," Freddy said. "Douglas, could you please check for me if the others are where they should be?"

"They are," Golden informed before the guard had moved. "They're just waiting for you now."

"Thank you," Freddy said. She looked back at Douglas and smiled. "Have a good day, Douglas. And please make sure you don't overstrain yourself when you do your physical exercise."

Douglas gave a nod, after which Freddy left the office. The guard then turned to Golden.

Golden gave a wave. "See you next night, Doug. Was nice talking to you again," she said.

The guard gave a shy smile. "Uh…thanks. Likewise."

* * *

 **15:23 pm**

The young man awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He slowly opened his eyes, the noise that sounded through his apartment relentlessly continuing to torture Douglas' ears as he groggily stood up from his bed and walked over to the sound's source. He picked up and held it at his ear.

"Hello?" he drowsily said.

 _"_ _Hey, man, what took you so long?"_

Douglas blinked, recognizing his brother's voice. "Zach?"

 _"_ _That's me. Been a while since we spoke, eh?"_

"Heh…y-yeah, uh…what's going on, man?"

 _"_ _Not much, actually. Y'know, things are going like they're supposed to be going, and…well…"_ he casually paused. _"And how are you doing?"_

"Pretty good, actually."

 _"_ _That's weird,"_ Zachary directly said, _"'cause since your dropout, I don't think you've ever found a job. And I might be able to help you get one. It's at the same company I work at, so convincing my boss shouldn't be_ that _hard."_

"Stop there, bro," Douglas said. "Thanks, but I do actually have a job. The pay is decent, and I've made some friends there. Wouldn't want to leave for the world."

 _"_ _You found a job?"_ Zachary sounded surprised. _"Why didn't you tell me, man?"_

"I didn't? Sorry. Must've forgot about it."

 _"_ _It's fine. What kind of job is it?"_

"I do the nightshift."

 _"_ _You call_ that _a job?!"_

"Again, good pay and great friends."

 _"_ _Right. Guess I can't persuade you to get a better job?"_

"Nope."

 _"_ _In that case, I'll just get right to the point. What do ya say I visit my baby brother for a day or so? Y'know, to catch up and whatnot?"_

"Uh…sure. When?"

 _"_ _Well, I just happen to have the rest of the week off, so I guess I can come as early as tomorrow. Unless you have other stuff to worry about."_

"No, tomorrow's good," Douglas quickly said. "Just keep in mind that I'm pretty much nocturnal, so I'll be asleep in the morning and at work tonight."

 _"_ _I gotcha. See ya tomorrow!"_

"Yeah. Bye."

And with that, the conversation was over.


	2. Unexpected improvements

**Striker2015:** _I suppose I've made a good start, then! I'm glad to hear that, thank you for your review._

* * *

 _Chapter two: Unexpected improvements_

 **The next night**

 _"_ _Well then," Golden smirked. "Tonight was interesting."_

 _Her voice could not be heard in the real world. Currently, the only one with the ability to know what she said was Douglas, who had gotten used to having the golden she-bear anime-tronic invade his dreams now and then to keep him company at night without draining his physical or mental energy._

 _It was clear to Douglas – and the anime-tronics at Freddy's – that Golden was no ordinary person. She had…powers…nobody could explain. How she obtained them and how they worked were mysteries, but they were beyond those of any human. Or anime-tronic._

 _Douglas sighed and blushed a bit. "It's n-not funny."_

 _Golden giggled. "It's not? I thought it was kinda funny to see Chica actually trying to tie you to your chair. Guess she must've overheard Freddy last night and thought it was a good idea."_

 _"_ _If it involves messing with me, Chica_ always _thinks it's a good idea," the guard replied. "Chica_ and _Foxy."_

 _"_ _Heh…you're forgetting someone."_

 _"…_ and _you. By the way, Chica and Foxy didn't even manage to catch me tonight."_

 _"_ _You have the others to thank for that. Mangle was friendly enough to let you hide in her cove. And I'm pretty sure Freddy and Bonnie will see to it that the duct tape will be far out of your hunters' reach for the next few decades."_

 _"_ _Well, at least that's something."_

 _They spent some time chuckling, after which Golden once again spoke up, her smirk having turned into a friendly smile._

 _"_ _So…you said your brother's coming to visit you today?"_

 _Douglas nodded. "Yup. But don't worry, that doesn't mean I won't be hanging out with you girls next night. I wouldn't want to miss seeing Chica and Foxy be reprimanded by Freddy."_

 _"_ _I never doubted that, Doug. But…maybe you should bring Zach over~."_

 _That made the guard's eyes widen a bit. "Uh…well, no offense, but I don't think that's such a good idea. I…well…again, no offense, but I-" He stopped when he saw Golden giggle._

 _Douglas felt his face get warm and his mind be stung by the dominant power that was embarrassment._

 _"_ _Heh…I was just messing with you," Golden grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I know very well how your brother would react if he saw us move."_

 _That made the guard sigh again. "Hah…I should've guessed." He looked Golden straight in the eyes. "When am I going to learn?"_

 _"_ _You'll get there."_

* * *

 **15:00**

After getting dressed, Douglas sluggishly went to the living room to prepare a night guard's equivalent to breakfast. Upon opening the door that lead to said room, he almost flinched when he saw a familiar person sit on the couch with a cup of tea, looking back at him.

The man's eyes were about as blue as Douglas' own, and his hair color was the same dark blonde. He even rivaled the guard's impressive height and somewhat slender build. His facial expression was a lot less timid, however, instead showing a grin that radiated confidence and an 'I'm a nice person but don't mess with me or mine'-aura.

He stood up when Douglas entered the room. "'Ey, lil' bro! How've you been holding up?"

"Uh…good?" Douglas muttered, his mind and vocal cords still not very active. "You?"

"Yeah, me too. Though I'm pretty sure I had long gotten my lazy ass out of bed around 3 pm."

The younger man gave him a look as he went to make some tea for himself. "Nightshift."

"Oh yeah, that _boring-ass_ job-"

"It's not a _boring-ass_ job. For the third time-"

"Sitting on your ass or surveilling a place where nothing happens all night can't be very exciting, can it?"

"-good pay and better friends."

"Right. I guess that's a plus."

"Two, actually."

"Well, in any case…" Zach put his cup of tea on the coffee table in front of him. He then stood up and looked at his younger brother with a far more serious look.

Douglas looked back questioningly. His brother rarely lost his laid-back, humorous attitude, but when he did…

"What about Mom and Dad?" the elder eventually asked. "Did you tell them?"

It took a second before the guard felt his mind being frozen and realized what Zach really meant by that question. It was no secret that Douglas had dropped out of college after some ordeals, and the rest of his family had been worried about him: how was he going to get a decently paid job now? Of course, his parents had expressed their worry as well, but…well…

His parents. They had always motivated him to get an education for electrical engineering, but Douglas had chosen a different path. Now, even with his status as a dropout, he wasn't sure if his parents would be happy with his current job. To put it bluntly, they always wanted him to do 'great things' with his scientific knowledge…what would they do if they found out about-

"Oi," Zach's voice interrupted, snapping the younger one out of his thoughts. "…you didn't tell them, did you?"

Douglas didn't answer. He just looked at the ground as the sound of the kettle on the kitchen counter behind him increased. He heard his brother sigh.

"Look, Doug. I've always supported you, no matter your job, career decision or whatever else. I still do. But the longer you keep this from them-"

"I know!" Douglas interrupted. "I just…you know them. You know how they'd react."

"It's not like you had much of a choice, man. You dropped out of college, they can't say that taking the nightshift was a mistake. Especially if you like it there."

"They'll probably ask me to try again," the guard softly said. He looked up once more. "To go to college again. They'll even offer me the necessary money."

"And you don't want to do that," Zach calmly guessed. "Tell them that, then."

Douglas froze for a second time. "What?"

"If you don't want to go to college again, tell them. Yes, they'll be shocked and possibly even angry at first, but it's still your choice. They just have to deal with it."

"They'll sever their ties to me."

"No they won't. You know them better than that, man."

"I guess, but…" He trailed off.

"Eh," his brother said after a while of silence. "We should worry about it later. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask…"

Douglas looked at him questioningly.

"…what company do you work for?" Zach eventually finished.

"Ah, right." The younger man couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. "I work at Freddy's Restaurant, a small place nearby. It features a bunch of advanced, anime-themed animatronic characters to entertain the visitors."

His brother raised an eyebrow. "Advanced anime-themed robots?"

"Yup."

"Huh…"

"What?"

"Never heard of anything like that."

"Exactly. That's what makes Freddy's so unique."

"Is spreading propaganda about the place part of the job?"

"Very funny."

Zach's grin had returned. "You seem to like the place a lot."

"Guess it's because I got some good friends there."

"What about the food? Is the food good?"

"Pretty decent, yeah."

"Your boss?"

"He's a good guy."

"Giving you some time with those anime bots now and then?"

"Wh-what?"

"Nothin'"

"Not cool, Zach."

"Subjective."

Douglas sighed and shook his head in disapproval, with his brother ceaselessly smirking at his younger brother.

Behind that smirk hid something else, however. Upon closer inspection, that something appeared to be worry. Worry for his brother, who had developed an unusual attachment to this restaurant unlike anything Zach had seen from him. Who would get attached to something like the nightshift? Even with the friends he got at the place, being alone in a restaurant at night was not something Douglas would take a liking to under normal circumstances.

That attachment…was it something other than the restaurant itself? Something that could turn into a dependence?

…

Requires further investigation, just in case.

Unbeknownst to him, Douglas sensed this worry.

* * *

 **00:00 am**

Less than a second after he had taken a seat in his office chair, Douglas reflexively flinched upon hearing rapid footsteps approach from the hallway to his right. He looked at the corresponding door, just in time to see Mangle enter the office. Once inside, she looked Douglas straight in the eyes for a split second before nervously averting her gaze and looking to the ground.

One of Mangle's most striking features were her eyes. Douglas always found his gaze being drawn to the two golden spheres, only to shyly look away. He wasn't sure why this was, though: Foxy had the same eye color, but that didn't have the same effect. Maybe it had something to do with the kindness and timidity Mangle's gaze displayed…

"H-hi, Douglas…" the white she-fox greeted. "Um…h-how are y-you?"

Douglas felt his face get warm. "H-hey," he stuttered. "I-I'm good. A-and you?"

He didn't get a verbal reply, instead earning a nod and a flash of a small smile. It was what he expected from the shy she-fox: she rarely really talked, and when she did, her voice was usually little more than a whisper. Ironically, it was the shyness, _the_ thing that he had in common with her, that made conversations between them so difficult.

"U-um…hey…" Mangle spoke again. "Um…G-Goldie t-told me y-your…your brother…he's…visiting?"

"U-uh, yeah," Douglas said. "H-he's staying i-in town for a-a while. Th-thought it'd be, uh, a g-good idea t-to catch up, y-you know…"

He bit his tongue before telling Mangle about the matter that had been scratching at the back of his skull.

"O-okay…um…that's nice…" the she-fox said.

The awkward silence that followed was quickly broken by Chica, who entered the office.

"Hey, guys. How is everybody doing?"

The guard sighed. "H-hi, Chica. And…things are better now that Freddy got rid of that duct tape."

That earned him a giggle from Mangle and a grin from Chica.

"Don't think you're safe, Dougey," the yellow bird said. "The duct tape is gone, but I'm not. Anyway…" She sat down on the desk. "We heard something about your brother coming over?"

"Yup…"

"What's wrong?"

The guard opened his mouth, froze, and sighed. He looked down.

"Okay…I…I guess there's no harm in telling you…" He looked up at them. "Something's bothering him, and I think I know what it is."

The anime-tronics briefly shared a look before Chica spoke. "I'm not following."

Douglas sighed again. "My brother's known me for his whole life. He's used to seeing me a little…depressed. You know about my history at school and all…"

Chica nodded grimly. Douglas had been a popular target for bullying, something that never really faded. His height, slim build and continuously increasing self-doubt were mostly at fault for that.

"A-anyway," the guard continued, "Since I started working here, I felt like I…improved. I've got friends now…" He glanced at them and gave a shy smile before continuing, not noticing the girls' own smiles. "And…well…I think my brother's noticed these improvements. He almost seems…worried…"

"Worried?" Chica asked, confused. "About what? You'd think he'd be happy for you."

"Well…" Douglas hesitantly said. "It's…complicated. You see, I-I didn't keep my liking for this place a secret. N-now, I rarely get attached to something like that, and…well…I don't think he's going to stop asking stuff to find out why this place is an exception for that, and I'm afraid that might lead to problems."

"You rarely take a liking to anything?" Chica asked. "Well, I gotta say…" She smiled. "I'm glad to be one of the exceptions."

"Y-yeah!" Mangle said. "M-me t-too!"

The guard felt his face's temperature rise once more, making him look down again. "Uh…th-thanks. Th-that m-means a lot…"

"Anyway," Chica eventually spoke after a few seconds of silence, "to get back to the matter at hand, I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much. Zach just needs to get used to the whole thing, that's all."

Mangle remained silent, but nodded in agreement. Douglas glanced at the two girls before sighing again, removing his security cap and running a hand through his hair.

"I hope you're right," he said. "I really do."


	3. Talking to the boss

_Chapter three: Talking to the boss_

 **9:30 am**

Kyle Griffiths was sitting in his office, calmly going through the pile of paperwork that had been neatly stacked and put on his desk. Like always, the pile was rather large. And like always, Griffiths didn't really mind. One had to be prepared to do some overtime if one were to run this restaurant, and if there was something Griffiths was prepared for, it was overtime.

The ringing of the phone made him look up from his work. He immediately put down his pen, picked up the phone, held it at his ear and leaned back in his chair.

"Kyle Griffiths, manager of Freddy's Restaurant, how may I help you?" his serene, dark voice asked.

 _"_ _Hello, sir,"_ a hushed, unfamiliar voice replied. _"Yeah,_ _uh…my name's Zachary Goodwin, I'm Douglas Goodwin's brother? He's asleep right now, so…"_

"Ah, yes. Pleasure to meet you. Even if it's over the phone."

 _"_ _Glad to hear that. Now, I'd like to know what's up with this restaurant of yours?!"_ Zachary's voice turned angry. _"What'd you do to my brother!"_

Griffiths blinked. What did he do to his brother? What was this person talking about?

"I'm afraid I'm not following," he calmly replied. "All I recall doing to your brother is give him a job."

He heard the other man sigh.

"Listen, Mr. Goodwin," Griffiths said. "Perhaps we should clear up any misunderstandings before we continue our conversation. I think it'd be a good idea if we met in person."

Another sigh. _"So…what, you want me to come to Freddy's?"_

"Our doors are open for you, sir."

 _"…_ _fine. I just gotta figure out how to get there. But if you try to sell_ me _another one of your jobs there, I'll have Douglas quit and sue your ass."_

* * *

 **10:00**

 _Long live Google Maps_ , Zach thought as he pushed open the door to Freddy's Restaurant. Immediately inside, he noticed the anime-themed bots Douglas had told him about.

Three bots, each with anthropomorphic and feminine features, were standing on what appeared to be a stage, singing, making music and even doing a few subtle, seemingly instinctive dancing moves.

The singer had a brown skin color with bear-like ears sticking from underneath its artificial hair, wore formal clothing and had a realistic and mesmerizingly pleasant singing voice, something one wouldn't expect from a robot.

Next to the she-bear, a girl with blue and white skin stood, wearing a plain red t-shirt with regular jeans, playing on a red, V-shaped guitar while singing a line now and then, its voice also astonishingly beautiful. Like the singer, it appeared to have animal ears. The difference was that its ears appeared more like those of a bunny or rabbit, rather than those of a bear.

The third one appeared to be a yellow…beakless chicken girl? Like the bunny, it wore plain clothing, only with a pink t-shirt instead of a red one. It appeared to be the main backing vocalist, and Zach was once again amazed at how much its voice made it sound like a professional singer.

A fourth bot caught his eye. It didn't stand on the stage, but near a pair of green curtains that separated another part of the restaurant from the dining area. Its clothing was also pink, as were the accents on its mostly snow-white skin. The ears on its head were foxlike, and its golden eyes displayed timidity.

In fact, all of the bots appeared as if they had emotions, so much even that they almost appeared like real girls, and pretty ones at that. Whoever had made these things had done so masterfully.

Zach felt a smirk creep on his face. He tore his gaze away from the machines and walked towards the manager's office, shaking his head.

"Douglas…" he chuckled. "You clever sonofabitch."

* * *

"Come in!" Griffiths called when he heard the knocks on his door. Said door immediately opened.

The manager looked up to meet two eyes with a familiar color but an unfamiliar expression. The man in front of him had an equally familiar physical build and hair color, but he could easily tell that they had never met before. At least not in person.

Griffiths stood up. "Mr. Zachary Goodwin?" he asked.

Zach nodded. "That's me, sir. Though I think I just solved our little misunderstanding."

Griffiths raised an eyebrow. "Why's that, Mr. Goodwin?"

The younger man let out a chuckle and closed the door. "Never mind. Let's talk."

"Of course," the manager said. "Have a seat."

* * *

"So…Douglas' attachment to this restaurant is unlike anything you've ever seen?" Griffiths summarized.

Zach nodded.

"And he's…improved…since the last time you saw him?"

Zach nodded again.

"And…may I ask why you're so worried about this?"

"With respect, sir," Zach said. "I'm his brother. It's what I do."

"That I understand," Griffiths admitted. "Although seeing how this restaurant apparently _improved_ him, how come you're not happy for him?"

"I _am_ happy for him, but also worried." Zach sighed. "Look, wouldn't you agree that Doug's job can be stressful? Y'know, just sitting down, watching the place all night, being _completely_ _alone_ without doing much can't be good for your sanity, can it?"

"I thought you were worried because he seemed almost _devoid_ of stress."

"Maybe he's trying to hide the stress by looking happy or something," the younger man randomly speculated. "Maybe, maybe…I don't know, do I? That's what I'm trying to figure out here."

That made the manager think. Douglas _did_ seem to improve in certain ways. If one would compare him now to whom he was two to three weeks ago, some differences could likely be noticed. Griffiths couldn't say he knew the boy through and through, but he knew him well enough to see those differences.

Stress…

…

"Mr. Goodwin…" he said after a while. "There is something I should tell you about."

"I'm all ears," Zach replied as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm glad, because this is about Douglas' predecessors."

"What about 'em?"

The manager hesitated before answering. "I do believe there is something we may have to watch out for. You see, each and every night guard so far resigned one or two nights after applying. Their 'explanations' involved the impossible, so I won't bore you with them."

"Every night guard quit after one or two nights?" Zach incredulously asked.

"Yes. All of them, even before I became the manager of this place. Douglas is the only one who seems genuinely happy with the job. I could never explain this, nor have I tried to. Maybe I should've."

A silence fell, with Zach quickly thinking. If something drove those guards away from the nightshift like that, what was it that made Doug so special? Made him _happy_ , even. Was there something he, unlike most other people, wasn't afraid of?

Zach inwardly chuckled when that thought directed him to mathematical equations and teachings about human DNA. Yup, them 'tronics schooled every night guard they got about those subjects, with Douglas the first and only one interested.

"What should we do, sir?" he eventually asked.

Griffiths looked him in the eye. "What do you suggest?"

The younger man paused, lost in thought once more.

…

Then, a suggestion came to mind.

"Maybe he'll need a friend to keep him company for a night or two." He looked at the manager again. "And I volunteer for that."


	4. The force and the object

**MESSAGE: My fourth and final exam week of this year is approaching, and it's going to be the most important and challenging one yet. It's also going to be the longest, I believe, as it's actually two weeks as opposed to my previous ones.**

 **Yes, this chapter's name is based on the 'unstoppable force meeting an immovable object'-thing.**

* * *

 _Chapter four: The force and the object_

 **16:00 pm – Douglas' apartment**

The ringing phone violently drew Douglas' attention. He immediately picked up, held it at his ear and sat down on the couch.

"Douglas Goodwin," he said.

 _"_ _Hello, Douglas,"_ Kyle Griffith's voice greeted.

"Oh, hello, sir. Uh, how're you doing?"

 _"_ _Can't complain. You?"_

"Uh, yeah, me neither."

 _"_ _I'm glad. In any case, there's something I have to inform you of."_

Douglas felt nervousness boil up in his stomach. Griffiths' voice sounded serious. "What's that, sir?"

 _"_ _Your brother has visited me today, and we've come to the agreement that he is to accompany you during your next shift."_

The guard froze. "…wh…what? I-I mean, uh, s-say again, sir?"

 _"_ _Your brother wanted to keep you company during your next shift, and I've given him permission to do so."_

Douglas briefly looked over to his left, where his seemingly oblivious brother was sipping some more tea.

"Uh…c-can I ask why, sir?"

 _"_ _Your brother seemed worried that you might have a lot of stress. And seeing what happened to your predecessors, I can't disagree with that worry. Especially since he's your brother."_

That made the young man swallow, but there was nothing he could do against it. He wanted to protest, but he couldn't. Not without either revealing the truth behind the anime-tronics or have Griffiths think that he was just another mad guard who thought the robots were alive.

"O…okay…" he hoarsely forced out. "Uh…thanks for telling me, sir."

 _"_ _No problem, Douglas. I'll see you at work."_

The guard sent a glare towards his brother as he put the phone down.

Zach looked back. "What?"

* * *

 **23:45 pm**

"For goodness' sake, Zach. Why'd you keep this quiet?" Douglas asked, still not very happy, as he stepped in his car. "Why'd you do this in the first place?"

Zach took the seat next to him. "I told you that five minutes ago. I was worried."

"And you didn't just think that _talking_ with me would be a better option? And get out of my car, I'm not taking you to work. It's already bad enough that you've been keeping yourself awake with those oceans of coffee you gulped down."

"I'm not gettin' out of your car. And I didn't take _that_ much coffee. You should go now or you'll be late at your job."

"Get out of my car, then."

"I got the manager's permission. If you show up without me, the evening guard will probably report that. How do you think good ol' Kyle's gonna react?"

Douglas sighed. He had a point. If he arrived without Zach, Griffiths was going to ask questions, maybe even reprimand him. He didn't feel like letting that happen, but there was no way he'd let Zach know about the anime-tronics.

Although…the girls were smart. If he'd enter the restaurant with his brother, they'd know something was up. Maybe they'd pretend to be the normal, 'mindless' bots everyone thought they were.

Still, he couldn't just let this happen.

But trying to get Zach to turn back proved to be in vain. Everything Douglas said was countered or used against him by the older man.

 _I can only hope the girls will know something's wrong_ , Doug thought.

Even when they entered the pizzeria, they were arguing about the matter. And once again, Zach proved himself to be superior when it came to debating. The evening guard was a bit confused, but apparently knew about Zach's visit and left the two alone without interfering. Douglas let out an annoyed sigh when he and his brother entered the office.

Then, he got an idea. "I'll be back, I need to use the restroom for a bit. Don't touch that tablet, it'll start wasting power the second you turn it on. Also, don't touch those buttons." He gestured to the buttons next to the doors.

"Gotcha," Zach said.

Slightly relieved, Doug gave a nod before leaving.

 _Gotta talk to the girls. They'll know what to do._

But before he had even left the hallway, a scream rang out from the office, followed by the sound of one of the office doors closing.

The guard froze.

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter.**


	5. Welcome to Freddy's!

**ArchineerRob:** _Yup, that he has! I'm glad you like the story, thank you for your review._

 **Sorry for the wait. It's the exams.**

* * *

 _Chapter five: Welcome to Freddy's!_

It happened mere seconds after Douglas had left the office, leaving Zach to do nothing but wait for his brother to come back after having done his business. Zach had decided to sit back and relax a bit in the office chair, when he suddenly heard the familiar sound of rapid footsteps to his left. This was already disturbing to him: Douglas had gone to the _right_ hallway, and he couldn't've possibly switched sides that quickly. Reflexively, Zach had left the chair, giving a faint yelp of fear as he touched the _door_ -button.

The door had closed with a loud clang, right when something ran into it from the other side. Nervously, Zach had pushed the _light_ -button, revealing something at the window that made the human flinch as he let out a scream.

On the other side of the door, Foxy looked through the window and was surprised to see someone other than Douglas stand in the office. She tilted her head and moved a bit closer to the window to observe the young man, who _did_ seem to share some traits with the night guard.

She took a step back upon realizing that. She knew that Douglas' older brother had come over to visit him, but she hadn't expected the guard to actually bring him over. He knew very well that revealing the anime-tronics' sentience to other people was not a good idea.

She stepped back to the window and carefully knocked on it with her hook. "Oi. Open the door, would ya?"

Zach stood frozen. Did that thing just _talk_ to him?

"Look, mate," the anime robot continued, "I dunno if you're here on visit or somethin', but them doors ain't necessary."

The young man still didn't respond.

Foxy sighed. "Okay, not tryin' to scare ya or nothin', but if ya keep this door closed for too long, you're gonna run outta power pretty fast."

"Is there something going on here?" a voice to Foxy's left asked. She looked over and saw Bonnie walking up to her. The blue bunny, like many times before, looked worried.

The she-fox shrugged. "There's a guy in the office who ain't lettin' me in."

"Let me take a look," Bonnie said. She went to stand next to Foxy to look through the window.

That's when more rapid footsteps erupted from the other hallway. Feeling another rush of fear, Zach turned around and closed the other door, only to hear his brother's voice from the other side.

"Oi! Zach, open the door! It's me!"

Zach reopened the door and Douglas entered the office. Upon seeing the two anime-tronics at the other window next to a closed door, he turned to his older brother with a frown. "What's going on?"

Zach pointed at Foxy. "Th-that…that thing…"

Douglas looked at the she-fox, who gave a wave. He then turned to his brother again. "Do you mind?" he calmly asked. "I hate it when someone calls them 'things'. Also, we can open this door." He went to walk towards the closed door, only for Zach to push him back.

"What are you doing?!" the elder hissed. "You don't need to be a genius to know that they're dangerous!"

"Then I guess I'm not a genius," Douglas dryly said. "Look, they're not out for our blood or anything, I've been around them for, what, two weeks? _Without_ those doors, I mean."

"That door is staying closed," Zach determinedly said. "And so is this one."

He walked over to the other door and closed it, causing his younger brother to despondently close his eyes and let out a sigh. "Keeping both doors closed isn't going to help anyone, you know. This building's got limited power."

"Then there's gotta be a way to…wait, hand me your phone, will you? Some additional power might help."

"I'm not going to hand you my phone."

"That tablet on the desk, then."

"The tablet draws power from the same source as the doors."

"Well then, give me your phone! You want to survive or not?"

"I've survived this place since I started working here, with the only danger being Chica and Foxy's jokes and pranks." Douglas glanced at the she-fox, who let out a chuckle. "Besides, I don't know how you're supposed to transport its power to the generator from here. If it's even possible at all."

"What do you say we do, then?"

"Open the doors."

"Not gonna happen."

"Then I guess we just gotta wait until the power runs out."

"Not gonna happen either."

"You got a better idea?"

"You're the night guard here."

"Oh, sure. _Now_ I'm the expert."

"I never said you weren't, did I?"

"Not explicitly, no. But you don't really seem to trust me, either."

Zach's imminent retort was cut short by a banging sound that echoed through the office. It was as if someone was attempting to crawl through a ventilation without making the effort to remain quiet. He flinched and looked around, but was unable to find its source.

It took a few seconds for Douglas to realize what it was. He looked at the desk, and saw a bunch of green/gold and black colors appear under it, right when the banging noise ceased.

The green/gold and black mass quickly turned into a tall, casually dressed anime-tronic, who swiftly entered the office and took a seat on the desk, giving the two humans a friendly smile. Douglas timidly returned it, while Zach was frozen in fear.

"Hey," Spring greeted.


	6. The golden opportunity

**Sorry for the wait (how many times have I said that now?). I've been busy working on other stories – some of which aren't yet published.**

* * *

 _Chapter six: The golden opportunity_

"D-Douglas!" Zach said, panic rising in his voice as he subconsciously backed up against the wall. "G-get back!"

Douglas sighed. "Zach, for the last time—"

"You can't tell me that _thing_ broke in here 'cause it wants to be friends with us!"

That made the night guard feel a wave of anger. He turned around to meet his brother's gaze and make a retort, when he felt a careful hand land on his shoulder. He looked over to see Spring behind him.

Douglas' rage melted away instantly upon seeing his friend's calm, gentle expression. Zach, however, freaked out even more than he already had, sputtering incoherent gibberish in (what seemed to be) an attempt to convince Spring to get away from Doug.

Doug turned to his brother again, but with a slightly calmer look than before. "Zach…"

"That…that…that thi—" Zach stammered.

"Don't you _dare_ say it," Doug interrupted. "They've already taken enough shit from my predecessors."

"Douglas," Spring giggled. "Careful. If Freddy hears you swearing, you're not going to hear the end of it."

The guard's face reddened slightly. "Right. An argument with Freddy is the last thing I want."

"Wha…dah…" Zach wheezed. "Th-that… _person_ can talk?!"

"Yes…" Douglas said. "You didn't hear her say hi when she came into the office?"

The elder shook his head, his gaze still fixed on Spring. The anime-tronic smiled back in an attempt to calm him down a bit, but there was no visible effect.

"Ah, Douglas?" Foxy's voice sounded from the window. "I don't wanna freak ya out, but I'm pretty sure you'll be outta power before long if these doors stay closed."

"Right," the guard said. "But what do we do about…" He gestured towards Zach.

"I think we should leave for a while," Bonnie suggested. "It's probably for the best."

Foxy hesitated. "Not to offend anyone or nothin', but I'm not sure how much that'll help."

"Tell the others to stay away from the office for a bit," Douglas ordered.

Bonnie nodded. "Okay."

Foxy gave a salute before she left the hallway with Bonnie, leaving only Douglas, Zachary and Spring.

* * *

"Is everything all right?" Freddy asked when Bonnie and Foxy returned. "Is there something going on?"

"Dougey's brother is here," Foxy replied with a hint of a smirk. "He ain't too accustomed to seein' sentient robots roam 'round."

"Zach's here?" Chica exclaimed.

"I never expected Douglas to bring his brother here," Freddy pensively said.

"Whatever," Chica said with an almost sinister grin as she proceeded to walk towards the east hallway. "I'm gonna welcome this guy properly."

"You'll do no such thing!" Bonnie sternly said. "Dougey told us to stay away from the office so he and Spring can talk to Zach alone."

Chica's grin dropped. "Why?"

"He's scared of us," Bonnie said.

"Well, there's only one way to get rid of that fear, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Same thing we did with Dougey himself: just talk to the guy 'till he calms down."

"I believe that's why Douglas allows Spring to stay in the office," Freddy quickly cut in. "Whether or not Zachary will meet us all tonight is uncertain, but if Douglas succeeds in convincing him to talk to us, at least he'll no longer think of us as dangerous machines."

Chica sighed. "I guess. Still really want to go over there and meet him."

"We have to be patient. Oh, and someone should inform Mangle. She's in her cove."

* * *

"Wh…what! How!" Zach practically yelled. "How is this possible?!"

"How is what possible?" Doug asked.

"What do you think!" Zach gestured towards Spring. "How can… _she_ talk?! And move?! And do who-knows-what else?!"

"Her name is Spring," Doug said. "And to answer your question…" He looked at Spring, who shrugged.

"Me and the others have always been like this," she said. "From the moment I was turned on, I was…well, I just _was_."

Zach examined her. He was still scared, but a hint of fascination was starting to become visible. "Who designed you?"

Spring shrugged again. "I don't know. Sorry."

Zach's fascination didn't waver. If anything, it seemed to increase, pushing away a small part of the fear. "Uh…how do you work?"

"Zach," Douglas interrupted, "it's…uh…not polite to ask someone how their insides work."

"It's okay, Doug," Spring smiled. She looked at Zach. "Honestly, I'm no expert on this stuff. I'm just a robot who happens to be sentient somehow, I guess."

"Oh…"

The brief silence that followed was quickly interrupted. Douglas just stood there, looking at his brother and the anime-tronic, when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Feeling nervous, he turned around to meet Golden, who was giving him a grin.

"Sssshit!" the guard exclaimed. "G-Golden…!"

Golden chuckled. "Heh…hah, I'm sorry Dougey. I couldn't help myself. Again."

"That's starting to get old," Doug objected.

"Not to me."

"What just happened!" Zach yelled.

Douglas turned back to him with a deadpan look. "This here's Golden. She has, uh…ways of surprising people."

Zach gave him a questioning look.

"Anyway," Golden intervened, "I'm just here to say that the others know about Zach, and they said they'd stay away from the office." She looked at Zach. "I hope that helps."

"Uh, th-thanks," the man replied.

"That being said…"

Zach froze.

"They're all kind of eager to meet you," Golden said. "Like, _very_ eager. If you see yellow or red pop up at the windows, give a holler."

"Uh…what?"

"Yellow and red," the guard spoke up. "Chica and Foxy. They like to mess around a lot with, uh, not too much respect for certain rules. I don't want to scare you, but they might not be very…patient."

"A-are they dangerous?"

"Not at all. They just like making you feel uncomfortable." He sighed. "Trust me, I know. I'm still not used to it."

"Uh…" Zach hesitated. "What about the others?"

Golden smirked. "Seems like Zach's pretty eager to meet them, too."

"Wha—" Zach turned defensive. "N-no, I mean—"

"Save your breath," Douglas interrupted when he saw the she-bear's hidden grin. "Golden likes to mess with people almost as much as Chica does."

"O-oh…"

"Sorry," Golden grinned. "If it's any consolation, Douglas has to endure my jokes at least thirty hours a week – along with Chica's and Foxy's."

"Anyway," Douglas said, "you asked about the others."

Zach nodded.

"They're pretty much the opposite," the guard explained. "Freddy is formal and supporting, Bonnie is caring and a bit protective, Mangle is sweet and shy."

His brother looked at him. "Wait, 'Freddy'? I thought that was a boy's name? And…'Mangle'?"

"Yeah, no one knows why they got those names," Golden said. "We never really gave it that much thought."

"Okay…"

"In any case, would you…want to meet the others now? Or…"

Zachary hesitated, but Doug could see that he wasn't as nervous as he had been. The night guard wasn't surprised. He himself had experienced firsthand how calming Golden's presence actually could be. Of course, _his_ experience happened in a supernatural dream world…but that was not important at the moment. Golden's abilities were beyond him, so he hardly ever tried to understand them anyway.

Zach spoke. "How big are the chances that… _those_ two…will prank me on day one?"

"Prank you?" Doug said. "Not very likely – but that doesn't mean they won't _mess_ with you."

"Right. What if I were to meet them first?"

"Bad idea."

"Is it worse than when I tried to eat that bar of soap?"

Golden and Spring shared a glance and giggled, to which Zach briefly smiled. He was starting to feel less afraid.

"That was years upon years ago," Douglas said. "And I think we all learned from that experience."

"C'mon, Doug." Zach spread his arms, and his relaxed, somewhat cocky smirk reappeared. "What's life without some risks, eh?"

The night guard looked at the anime-tronics. "Girls, can you please help me out?"

"Hey," Golden grinned, "if Zach wants to meet Chica first, I won't stop him."

Doug sighed. He hesitated. "Well… If he _does_ meet her and Foxy first, at least he won't have to deal with them later on."

* * *

"Hey, girls," Douglas greeted when he entered the dining area. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy were present; Mangle was probably in her cove.

Foxy jumped up from her chair and towards the night guard. "Hey, Dougey! How's everything goin' in that office?"

Douglas backed off a bit. He was tall, but the girls were still taller. Not by _that_ much, but Foxy and Chica always managed to use it in their quests to make Douglas feel uncomfortable.

"Uh," Douglas said, "good, I guess? Zach's getting used to things pretty fast."

"That's good," Freddy commented. "And impressive."

"That's just the beginning." The guard glanced at Chica. "He asked for Chica specifically."

The chicken's eyes grew wide. " _Me_?"

"My, my…" Freddy grinned. "How bold."

"He knows the risks," Douglas said. "Except that I told him you probably wouldn't pull any sophisticated prank."

"You're right about that," Chica smirked as she stood up, "but only because I haven't had the chance to prepare one."

The guard rolled his eyes. "I still think I should come with you."

"Of course."

* * *

Right after Spring left and Golden vanished, a heavy hand made its way onto Zach's shoulder from behind. He yelped in response and whirled around to see yet another anime-tronic standing behind him, giving him a grin that revealed mischief. The human sighed in relief and took a step backwards.

"Hi," he said. His voice was _almost_ completely calm. "I'm Zach."

"So I've been told," Chica replied. "I'm Chica."

It was then that Douglas collided with the door frame behind the chicken girl, effectively causing him to stop running. He glared up at her, panting in fatigue as he leaned against the frame. Chica gave him a playful smirk.

"You're late," she said.

"How…are you…so fast?" Douglas panted. "I thought… _Foxy_ was…the runner…"

"She _is_ the runner. I just got a head start."

" _After_ shoving me against the table." Douglas rubbed his back. "Ow, my spine."

"Sorry, heh… You alright?"

"Physically, I'm recovering. But being outrun by a chicken takes its toll on my pride."

"Cheer up, bro," Zach cut in with a grin of his own. "I always thought chickens were vastly underestimated in terms of speed."

"Finally," Chica said as she turned back to him, "someone who agrees with me on that."

Douglas shook his head and sighed before looking at both of them. "Can I trust you two to _not_ make a mess of things?"

"You wound me, brother," Zach chuckled. "When did I ever make a mess of things?"

"You're right. I was actually mostly talking to Chica."

"When did _I_ ever make a mess of things?" the girl in question asked.

The guard just looked at her.

* * *

Chica and Zach became friends rather quickly. The former's tendency to tease was rivaled by the latter's humorous and relaxed attitude, making Zach a 'true challenge' according to Chica. The human had proudly accepted that title.

Douglas eventually left the two alone and headed back to the dining area, where he reported how things were going in the office.

"If he and Chica can become friends this quickly…" Freddy spoke, "he'll likely be able to meet us all before the night is over."

"Good!" Foxy exclaimed with a grin.

Douglas gave a nod and walked over to one of the dining tables, where he sat down on a chair. He leaned backwards and sighed. "I guess this is a good time to explain some stuff, then."

"Yes…" Bonnie softly said, "I, uh, didn't really expect to…see your brother here."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I can explain." He sat upright. "Apparently, Zach approached Mr. Griffiths, who allowed him to keep me company this night. Griffiths informed me about this just before I had to go to work, and his word is law, so I didn't have much of a choice." He sighed. "Zach's unwavering stubbornness didn't help."

"Understandable," Freddy said.

"He seems to me like a good guy," Foxy cut in.

"He is," Douglas affirmed. "He always supported me, even if my parents didn't approve."

"Those're the signs of a good bro."

The guard nodded.

Foxy grinned and strode towards the human. When she was next to him, she threw her arm around his shoulders and whispered, "You'll always be my favorite, though."

Douglas flushed as the she-fox let go of him.


	7. The red fox

_**Guest:**_ _Thank you._

 _ **D3F4LT:**_ _I want to see it complete too, and I hope I'll be able to make that wish come true in the near future._

 **[Frank steps out of a half-obliterated helicopter, completely unharmed and unfazed]**

 _ **Frank:**_ **I'm back!**

 **…**

 **That's not very realistic, is it?**

* * *

 _Chapter seven: The red fox_

"You know, I gotta say…" Chica said. "You're taking all this pretty well."

"I'm assuming Doug didn't tell you 'bout how I screamed my ass off when I realized you girls were alive," Zach dryly said, to which the chicken chuckled.

"Well, it's better than how the other guards reacted."

"Is that why Doug's predecessors would always quit after one or two nights?"

"Yup. We _wanted_ to have a friend to keep us company at night, but those guards had other plans."

"And Doug was the first one to _not_ quit, right?"

"Well, he was probably going to. He was scared like those other guards, but Bonnie and I convinced him to stay. He's been our friend ever since."

"Welp, I guess that explains why he was the only one who didn't quit. And why he got so attached to this place, of course."

Chica tilted her head. "Yeah, I heard that that doesn't happen very often…?"

Zach remained silent at first. Then, he cracked his neck. "How much do you know 'bout Doug's experiences with bullies?"

"Bully experiences? He told us some things about them." Chica's face and voice turned grim. "About a week ago, there was this guy called Blake Maxwell who applied for the nightshift."

"Maxwell? Aw, crap…" Zach let his head rest in his hand. "Yeah, I remember him. Doug didn't like to talk 'bout the shit that happened at his school, but that sonofabitch Maxwell's been the subject of some conversations. He's the worst of the worst."

"Doug didn't tell you what happened last week?" questioned the chicken girl. "What about Griffiths? Didn't he tell you?"

"What's that, now?"

Chica frowned. "When Kyle denied Maxwell the job, Maxwell paid the restaurant a visit to beat up Doug. He had a baseball bat and everything. All he _didn't_ count on, was us."

Zach looked up, frozen. "Maxwell attacked my lil' brother?!"

"Right outside the restaurant."

"And no one told me!" He groaned, throwing his head in his neck. "I swear, Douglas isn't gonna hear the end of this anytime soon!" He looked at Chica again. "You girls saved him from that asshole, right?"

"Yup. Foxy and I stopped Maxwell and were just about ready to give him a beating. Too bad Freddy didn't approve." She flashed a smile. "The cops didn't hesitate to arrest the guy, though."

"At least there's that. But I'm still gonna yell at Doug for not telling me 'bout this."

"Alright, I usually don't say this, but don't be too hard on him. The guy's been through a lot."

"Noted." Zach sighed. "Anyway, I was going to tell you why Doug wasn't one to get attached to things. The answer is simple: he's had to deal with a lot of disappointment.

"Y'see, when Doug went to school for the first time, he was…enthusiastic. He liked it the first few days, but even then he wasn't very popular among his fellow classmates. And don't quote me on this, but I think that was mainly because said classmates were young punks who weren't used to having such a nice guy among them.

"Anyway, this happened again several times. When he left his elementary school, he was really glad that he could go to the next level, you know? Escape from his bullies and all. Even then, he was still pretty eager to learn. But…well…I think you know what happened."

"More bullies, huh?" guessed Chica. Zach nodded.

"Even after that part of his life, it didn't stop. He always liked studying, and expected to…well, to get 'attached' to his schools, basically. But because those assholes ruined the whole experience for him, he thinks twice before getting his hopes up nowadays."

The chicken sighed. "Poor guy… I feel kind of bad now for messing with him so much."

"Well, as long as your pranks aren't too extreme, I wouldn't worry too much."

It was then that Douglas appeared in the left doorway and knocked on the doorframe. "Uh, guys?"

Zach turned to him and stood up from his chair. "Ah! Exactly the man I wanted to talk to!" He stepped forward and put his finger on Douglas' chest. "Now, you mind telling me why you didn't say anything to me 'bout the whole Blake Maxwell stuff?"

Douglas stood frozen for a second. He then looked past his brother to Chica. "You…told him?"

"I thought he already knew about it," Chica said. "Sorry."

The guard sighed. "It's fine." He looked at Zach again. "Sorry, bro, I…I didn't want you to worry."

"I can appreciate that, Doug, but next time someone decides to come at you with a baseball bat, make sure to tell me. And Mom and Dad, of course."

Douglas let his shoulders hang when his parents were mentioned. He hesitated, but eventually spoke. "Alright…"

"Anyway…" Zach stepped back. "What brings you here?"

"R-right, um… I was just wondering if you were interested in meeting the others at the moment?"

Chica suddenly stood up from her seat, a mischievous spark in her eyes. "Oh! You want to meet Foxy first!"

"Chica—"

"Foxy?" repeated Zach. A grin appeared. "You said that was the other one who liked messing around?"

"Now," Chica said, "you met me first, I suppose you could meet Foxy second."

"That's not such a bad idea…"

"But it is!" exclaimed Douglas. "Foxy is…u-uh…worse than Chica."

"Nonsense," claimed the chicken, pretending to be offended. "She's just a lot more cheerful, that's all."

"That's _exactly_ my point! S-she's…full of energy."

"Sounds like someone I'd be willing to meet," the older human said with a smirk, causing his brother to sigh again.

"…alright…" he admitted. "Fine. I'll ask Foxy to come over to the office. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I would never say such a thing."

* * *

While the others were surprised to hear that Zach wanted to meet Foxy next, they all realized that they _should_ 've expected it. After all, the human had invited Chica first, and he apparently wasn't afraid to perform such a daring feat again. And, similarly to last time, this caused Bonnie and Freddy to express respect (and in Bonnie's case, a little worry) towards Zach's courageous (if a bit foolish) attitude.

Somehow, Zach's lack of fear – combined with Freddy and Bonnie's expressions of respect – caused something to shift in Douglas. Of course, he was happy that Zach was bonding with his friends, but…well…

The elder had already been able to meet Spring and Golden, with his only display of fear dissipating relatively quickly – after which he'd invited the single most mischievous anime-tronic to the office. And from what Douglas had seen, Zach had hardly been fazed by whatever Chica had done to try to make him uncomfortable.

And now, he was going to meet the single most _energetic_ anime-tronic of the place.

That something that shifted inside Douglas eventually turned out to be…shame. He felt like a coward. How long had it taken for him to meet all the 'tronics? Four days? And even after that, he'd had to get used to Chica's pranks, Foxy's tricks, Mangle's shyness, Bonnie's motherliness, Spring's affection, Freddy's formal behavior and Golden's teasing.

And despite him being a night guard, they had had to save _him_ from—

 _Don't think about that. I've been through this with Freddy._

Regardless, Foxy was ecstatic to hear that she was to meet the new human. Before Douglas was able to tell her that she had to remain calm to make sure Zach wouldn't freak out, she'd sped to the office with that amazing velocity of hers.

"Shit…" muttered Douglas. Bonnie giggled.

"Hehe… Oh, don't worry, Doug. If Zach's okay with meeting Chica, I suppose he'll be okay with meeting Foxy. They're pretty alike."

"Alike, as in, with their pranks and jokes? Because if so, I agree."

"Yeah… But really, I'd say Chica's worse than Foxy in terms of that kind of thing. Foxy's just more jovial."

"Right…"

Bonnie tilted her head and approached the guard, who was pensively looking at where Foxy'd gone. "Are you okay, Douglas?"

He turned to her. "Uh, y-yeah, I'm okay."

The bunny narrowed her eyes a bit. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. W-why?"

"Well…never mind."

"Okay." A brief silence fell. "Uh, I-I gotta, uh, gotta go to the toilet for a bit."

"Alright. You'll be okay, right?"

"Wha—, of course." He forced a chuckle and started walking towards the restrooms. "It's just the bathroom."

When he was out of sight, Bonnie looked at Freddy, who stood on the stage. "Something's bothering him. Something other than the toilet thing, I mean."

Freddy sighed. "Indeed there is." She paused. "We should take good care of him, Bon. It may be his job to look after us, but we've got to make sure that someone looks after him, too."

The bunny agreed to that.

* * *

Chica hardly even flinched when Foxy suddenly appeared in the doorway behind Zach, smashed her hand against the window and yelled, "Heyyyyy, guys!"

Zach, on the other hand, practically jumped out of his chair before turning to the grinning red she-fox, his breath momentarily gone. After a second of silence, he put a hand on his heart and exhaled a bit.

"Well…" he said with a deadpan. "Uh, hi?"

That caused Foxy to laugh and Chica to chuckle. Zach let out a relieved sigh and let his hand fall back to his side. His heart was still thumping like crazy, and the adrenaline he felt was probably going to take a while to subside completely. At that moment, he understood what Douglas had warned him about.

"Whew…" he said. "Okay, so that happened. I see what Doug was talking about."

"Aw," complained Foxy. "Did Dougey tell ya this was gonna happen?"

"Well, not… _this_ …specifically," Zach said as he gestured towards the doorframe and the window next to it. "But…well… Let's just say he was…trying to keep me safe."

"Ah. Hehe. Sounds like him. Anyway…" She grinned at Zach. "Time for us to get acquainted."

Zach barely had time to yelp when the she-fox swiftly but gently grabbed him by his collar and held him up in the air with one arm. Disoriented, the human grabbed her wrist and looked at her. She still had that toothy but benevolent smile, which, despite Zach's current position, erased some of the nervousness that had risen up in his stomach.

"I'm Foxy!" exclaimed Foxy. "Some folks say I look like a pirate." She raised her right arm, showing her hook hand. "I'll give ya one chance to guess why."

"Uh…" The human squirmed a bit in her grasp. "Y-you have a hook for a hand?"

"Good guess!" With a chuckle, she carefully put Zach back on his feet and released her grip on his collar. " _Very_ good guess."

"Uh," Zach muttered, feeling a bit dizzy. "Okay?"

He then suddenly noticed Chica and Foxy's laughter. He glanced at the former and let out a nervous chuckle.

"O-okay, uh, so, that happened now, too."

"Haha… Oh, I'm sorry, Zach," Foxy apologized. "I couldn't help myself. I say that a lot, but it's my favorite thing to say."

"Uh, it's fine. Heh. Guess I shoulda seen it coming." He let out a chuckle. "I gotta say, though, you're kinda strong."

The she-fox shrugged. "One of the perks that come with havin' robotic insides, I s'pose."

* * *

 _"_ _H-hey… Wh-what happened to my microscope?"_

 _"_ _The thing got in my way, so I shoved it off the table."_

 _"_ _What?! I-it's c-completely d-destroyed!"_

 _"_ _W-w-w-well, I-I-I-I d-d-d-don't c-c-c-c-care."_

 _"_ _Blake—!"_

 _"_ _Shut up, Goodwin. Seriously, one of these days, you're going to have to grow up._

Douglas looked at his reflection in the mirror as he attempted to banish the memory from his thoughts. He sighed. College had been so terrible. What was worse, was that the Maxwell incident had reminded him that he wasn't out of the woods yet. Upon dropping out, he thought that the only light in the darkness was the absence of tormentors. Meeting the girls at Freddy's had enlarged that speck of light into something better.

But Maxwell had to mess it up. True, the police had arrested him, but the fear of the past returning had become very real. What if Nancy or Jim from high school came back, too?

 _"_ _Seriously,"_ echoed Blake's voice, _"one of these days, you're going to have to grow up."_

He growled and looked down. As much as he hated to admit it, Maxwell was right. He realized that he was envious of his brother's bravery and confidence, his ability to meet people without stuttering every two seconds. Envy… He was being so childish, so _petty_.

 _"…_ _you're going to have to grow up."_

He closed his eyes tightly. He had family. A great brother who'd supported him many times in the past. Great friends, people who he could trust and who'd helped him in times of need. Even his boss was a good guy; he'd given Douglas a raise after his first week.

How dare he ask for more?!

 _"…_ _grow up."_

He raised his fist and (despite the muscle pain he'd gained from the physical exercise he'd done in recent days) brought it down on the sink with force.

He flinched and looked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was surprised to see Golden standing next to him, looking at him with pitying eyes.

"G-Golden," Douglas stuttered. "This is the men's room…"

"It is," she softly replied. "Look… My paranormal abilities are limited, but I hardly need them to know what's going on with you."

"W-what do you mean? W-what is wrong with me?"

She sighed. "Douglas, why do you think your brother's so good at meeting the others?"

The guard kept his gaze on her for a second before looking down again. He let his shoulders hang. "Because he's not a coward."

"Wrong."

He blinked and looked up again. "What?"

"Your answer's wrong. He freaked out earlier, remember? Now, I'm not saying that makes him a coward, since moving robots… Well, you know."

"This isn't about him freaking out because of you girls walking around!" Douglas snapped. "This is about him being able to talk to _anyone_ without stuttering or looking away! That's something I can't do! I've been afraid of you all for _four_ days, and even after that…! Even _now_ , I…!" He looked down again, unable to meet Golden's gaze. "I still can't talk to you properly…"

"That doesn't make you a coward," Golden calmly said after a brief silence. "You just…need more time for that kind of thing than Zach. Zach's met me, Spring, and now Chica and Foxy…but that doesn't mean he's a better person than you or anything."

"It's because he's a lot more confident…" Douglas softly said. "That's a virtue, right?"

"Yes," admitted the golden she-bear. "You're…shyer. But being shy isn't necessarily a bad thing. If Blake Maxwell was shy, I don't think he'd have tried to apply for the night shift at a restaurant with female anime robots."

"I applied for the job…"

"Again, true. But you did it for a different reason: you needed a job. Maxwell…well…" Both her voice and her expression turned grim. "Why do you think he applied for specifically _this_ job? And no, it's not just because he needed money."

For a second, Douglas remained silent. Then, his eyes widened and he looked up at Golden again. "Do you mean…?"

"Yup. He's one of those people who applied because he liked how the iconic mascots looked."

"…"

"Honestly, can you say you're that surprised?"

"…no. Knowing Blake, I… No." He let his head hang once more.

Golden looked down at him and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

But the guard shrugged off her hand as he walked past her, unable to look her in the eye. "Come on, let's just go."

"Douglas…"

"I'm fine."

She sighed, but didn't object.

What she _did_ do, was make a mental note to keep a better eye on the guard and his mental state.


	8. The restaurant's crew

_**ArchineerRob:**_ _Thank you! I'm glad to hear that._

* * *

 _Chapter eight: The restaurant's crew_

Even Foxy's and Chica's tricks combined weren't enough to 'defeat' Zach. Each time they tried to make him feel uncomfortable through teasing, he just laughed it off. Even better: he sometimes reflected it back at them with twice as much 'teasing power', leaving the girls to try to hold back _their_ blushing instead. This, however, only motivated them to continue their attempts, which in turn gave Zach more opportunities to return the favor. It became a game – one in which both parties were skilled, but only one was superior.

The girls loved this challenge that was brought to them by the new human. His resilience against their teasing, combined with his ability to retaliate made him an excellent rival – one they very much welcomed.

Meanwhile, Zach was actually glad to see what Douglas had to deal with on a daily basis. He felt reassured: when he and Chica talked about Douglas' bullying experiences, the chicken had expressed regret for messing with the guard. Now, Zach could see that that regret was hardly justified, as Chica and Foxy's benevolent teasing was very different from what Douglas had had to go through at school.

Around 2:30 am, someone knocked on the window next to the door that lead to the east hallway. The trio looked over to see Freddy poke her head inside the office, looking at them.

"'Ey, Fred," greeted Foxy. "How's things goin'?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Freddy replied. "With me, everything is all right. What about you three?"

"Good," grinned Chica as she put her hands on Zach's shoulders. "We're just getting acquainted and all."

"I'm sure you are. You're not being too teasing to our guest, are you?"

Foxy burst into laughter. "Ha! If only ya knew the irony to that question, Fred."

That caused Chica and Zach to start laughing as well. Freddy herself was simultaneously amused and confused. The irony to that question? Did that mean that Zach was teasing _them_ instead of the other way around?

Either way, when the laughing had died down, Freddy spoke once more. "Uh, right." A few more chuckles from her and the others. "So, Zachary…" She looked at the person in question. "There are still three of us that you haven't met yet – myself included. If you were willing to meet them, they will be willing to meet you."

"Regardless of the 'when' and 'where'?" asked Zach.

"Well, preferably before 6:00 am and inside the restaurant," Freddy chuckled.

"Right. 'Course." He paused, then stood up from his chair. "Maybe I should go to the dining room, then. Everyone else's there, right?"

"Yes. Although Mangle is technically an exception to that rule."

"Mangle usually hangs out in her cove right next to the dining room," Chica quickly explained. "She's a bit reclusive."

"Okay," Zach said. "So… Dining room first, then?"

The girls nodded.

* * *

Bonnie – who was sitting on one of the chairs at a dining table – looked over to the entrance to the east hallway to see Freddy, Zach, Chica and Foxy enter the room. The blue bunny immediately rose from her seat and approached the group, drawing their gazes in the process.

"Bonnie," said Freddy with a small, amused smile. "I do believe we've found someone who is able to withstand the jokes of our two favorite tricksters." She gestured in an almost elegant way to Zach.

Bonnie gave an impressed look as she regarded the human. "Really? That's…kind of amazing."

Zach chuckled to that. "Heh… Thanks. I'm Zach. How're you doing?"

"I'm Bonnie," replied Bonnie. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

As the group continued to talk, Douglas was sitting at one of the dining tables near the corner of the room, watching his brother interact with his friends. He sighed as he noticed that even with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy so close, Zach was able to remain completely calm. If Douglas were to be in Zach's current position, it was of little doubt that he'd start sweating and shaking and stuttering incomprehensibly. Not that the anime-tronics would mind, but still…

 _"_ _That doesn't make you a coward,"_ Golden's words echoed through his head. _"You're…shyer. But being shy isn't necessarily a bad thing."_

Douglas closed his eyes and sighed again. "Isn't it?" he quietly mumbled as he looked down at the table, a part of him wondering why he was talking to himself. "Wasn't my shyness one of the reasons why Blake targeted me?" He fell silent, not expecting a reply.

Unbeknownst to him, however, there was one more anime-tronic in the room, watching him silently from a dark corner. Despite its white and pink skin and its yellow, almost luminous eyes, it was able to stay hidden pretty well – one of the perks of being a fox.

Only when Foxy dragged Zach – and by extent the others – to the kitchen did Mangle leave the corner. She approached Douglas from behind. He didn't notice her until she put a hesitant hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and look around to meet her.

They maintained eye contact for a second or so before Mangle took a seat next to him, after which she turned her gaze in his direction again. Her amber eyes displayed worry.

"D-Douglas…" she softly said. "What's wrong?"

The guard sighed and looked down at the table again. He hesitated. Should he tell her? Golden claimed that she'd detected his problem without the use of her abilities. What was to say that Mangle, whose senses were sharper than a knife, wouldn't be able to do the same?

"Nothing," Douglas eventually answered. He mentally swore: trying to fool Mangle was a fool's errand all on its own, but for Douglas himself, it was completely futile. With his unconvincing voice and body language, he had given the white she-fox all clues that she needed.

The anime-tronic remained silent at first, nervous for Douglas' reaction on what she was about to say. When she eventually spoke, it was as soft as ever. "D-Douglas… You've been…acting odd today. Please tell me…?" Her eyes turned pleading.

 _Mangle…_ the guard thought. _Why? Why do you have to be so kind?_ He glanced at her, looking down again almost immediately upon seeing those pleading eyes. There was no way that he'd be able to lie to her more if he looked at those for too long.

"Really…" he said, once again sounding like a terrible liar. "There's nothing wrong…"

The white she-fox sighed and, after a moment of hesitation, put her hand on Douglas'. This made the guard swear mentally once more. Why'd she have to care so much? It didn't make the current situation much easier…

But she didn't say anything else. She just sat there, silently hoping that her presence comforted Douglas at least a little bit.


	9. Bother of a guard

**Luiginaryworker553:** _True, but Zach didn't really mean it in a hostile way or anything._

 **Zach Smith:** _Yeah, sorry for the wait. I've got five stories to worry about (including two unpublished ones), and this particular chapter's suffered its blocks._

 **So, as you may know, college is interfering with writing. A lot. Don't expect frequent updates (even though the next chapter is probably the last).**

 **Also: this chapter was difficult to write. I constantly got blocks that prevented me from continuing certain parts.**

* * *

 _Chapter nine: Bother of a guard_

After having shown Zach all around the restaurant, the anime-tronics thought it only appropriate that the human would meet the last person he was supposed to meet—a certain she-fox with a habit of not showing her face. Knowing that Mangle wasn't exactly the most adventurous person in the world, the decision to send Foxy to get her was made. Zach was confused by this at first; how would the energetic Foxy be able to convince the shy Mangle to get out of her cove?

In response to his confusion, Foxy had simply given a mysterious smirk before leaving for the green curtains. She wanted to see the surprise on the human's face when he saw just how similar Foxy and Mangle were—if only on a physical level.

Upon reaching the entrance to Mangle's cove, Foxy peeked through the opening between the curtains. Her sharp eyes allowed her to see every detail of the room, upon which she quickly realized that the white and pink anime-tronic that resided there was absent.

Foxy stepped inside and looked around the cove. "Huh…" she mumbled to herself. _Where'd ya go, Mangle?_

…

Then, she realized that there was one place she and the others hadn't shown Zach during the tour. Taking him there wouldn't've made sense, as he'd already spent quite a bit of time there…

The red she-fox left her twin sister's cove, after which she quickly but quietly sprinted down the hallway to the security office. She reached it mere moments later, allowing her to notice that the metal door was shut.

Confused, she peeked through the window, but what she saw on the other side only presented more questions than answers…

Mangle and Douglas were good friends, but it was no secret that they found it difficult to talk to one another. Both were shy, and that made some conversations quite awkward. They didn't even dare look each other in the eye most of the time.

Because of those reasons, Foxy was surprised to see them both in the office, sitting next to one another at the desk while holding what seemed to be a surprisingly normal conversation. Neither looked too happy and their moments of eye contact were still brief, but the air—which was visibly serious—didn't seem as awkward as usual. Even better: their stuttering had been reduced to a few sporadic stammers.

Not wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation, Foxy lightly tapped on the window with her hook, drawing the duo's attention. Douglas immediately stood up and opened the door for her, allowing the red she-fox to enter the room.

Foxy looked at them both. She tilted her head. "Hey," she greeted. "Is everything alright with you guys?"

Douglas raised an eyebrow. "… Why?"

"Well," Foxy said, "don't take this the wrong way, but I ain't used to seein' you two in the same room for longer than, like, two minutes."

The guard blushed and looked away as a response. Mangle also didn't seem too comfortable. Foxy sighed.

"Sorry. That sounded…less polite than I wanted it to."

"It's fine," Douglas said. "Uh, everything's fine. We're just…talking…"

"Douglas…" Mangle softly interrupted.

The guard glanced at her. Then, he sighed. "Alright…fine." He inhaled, preparing to say something, only to stop himself.

When Douglas remained silent, Foxy turned her questioning gaze to Mangle. The white she-fox glanced at the ground, hesitating.

"Not tryin' to rush ya, but are ya goin' to gimme some answers?" Foxy asked with worry audible in her voice. "Y'all are scarin' me."

"Sorry, sorry," Douglas quickly said. "Uh, I, uh… Well…" He paused, hesitating. "How do I put this…"

"Foxy…" Mangle softly spoke, her gaze aimed at the ground. "D-do you…remember…w-when I said t-that…I-I admired y-your c-confidence?"

Foxy nodded. "Yup. That I do." She suddenly looked at Douglas, realizing something. "Uh…how's that with you and your bro, Doug?"

Douglas said nothing. He looked straight at the ground, obviously ashamed. Foxy, who already suspected the answer, sighed and put a hand on the guard's shoulder.

"Doug," she said. "I already told ya that you'll always be our favorite…"

"I know," Douglas said. "I-I…I don't r-really understand myself. I-I mean, Zach's the best brother I could wish f-for…a-and I'm jealous of his confidence."

"Ya shouldn't be." The red she-fox looked up at her white and pink counterpart. "Just look at me and Mangle. I may be confident, but that doesn't make me more heroic or anything." She paused. "… Did Griffiths ever tell ya 'bout an incident that happened in 1987?"

That drew the attention of both Douglas and Mangle. The former gave Foxy a questioning look—although it was more of a glance; Douglas rarely ever looked anyone straight in the eye without averting his gaze immediately after—while the latter appeared hesitant and nervous. Foxy looked at her sister with eyes that asked for permission.

It was when Mangle swallowed and nodded that Foxy turned back to Douglas, who had noticed the subtle exchange between the two foxes. He inquiringly looked at the both of them.

"Back in '87," Foxy began, "there was this guy with a gun. A robber. He wanted to see money. Even threatened to shoot some kids."

Douglas' eyes visibly widened. "D-did anyone get…?"

"No," Foxy quickly said. "It ended well. At some point, the robber started to threaten Jeremy, the day guard. Jerry tried to talk sense into the man. Didn't work." Her eyes briefly looked at Mangle. "Pretty sure he was just about to shoot Jerry…when Mangle grabbed his gun and knocked him out from behind."

Douglas' eyes widened once more and he looked at Mangle, who in turn timidly looked at the ground. "… Wow…" the guard said after a brief silence. "You, uh, never told me about that…"

"Yeah, well," Foxy said, "Mangle gets a lil' timid when that story's brought up." She gave a small smile. "That's 'cause you're so modest, eh, Mangle?"

That was when the white she-fox looked up again, her face red. "Wha-what? M-me?"

Foxy let out a chuckle before turning back to Douglas, her expression serious again. "So ya see, Dougey…it's the shy ones who get to be the real heroes in the end."

Douglas hesitated. He didn't really believe that. Foxy's words almost sounded like every shy person was _destined_ to become a hero…and that didn't really sound too realistic to him. "So…I guess my 'heroic moment' is still going to come…?" he mumbled.

"Actually…" Foxy said after a brief silence. "I'd say your heroic moment came to pass when ya decided to keep this job. Despite havin' to watch over the likes of Chica and me," she added with a chuckle. "And I gotta say, you've been doin' a good job so far."

"Have I? What about Max—"

"And don't say Maxwell!" Foxy sternly interrupted.

Douglas froze, realizing what he had been about to say. _Crap_ , he thought, _I almost did it again…_ He glanced at Foxy. "Uh…s-sorry about that."

Foxy sighed again, calming down. She gave Douglas' shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "'Kay, look; yes, your brother's a nice guy, but I wouldn't wanna trade ya with anyone—not for love nor money."

That made the guard blush a bit. He blinked a few times. "Uh…thanks, Foxy. T-that, uh, means a lot."

Foxy grinned and gave Douglas a not-too-powerful slap on the shoulder. "That's what I'm here for, eh?"

Douglas briefly gave a small, hesitant smile before stealing another glance from the red she-fox. "Uh…" he mumbled. "S-so, uh… What're y-you and the others u-up to…?"

* * *

"They're taking their time," Chica noted.

"Let them," Zach said as he stole a glance from his watch. "I'm not goin' anywhere just yet."

"And it is no secret that Mangle is quite…hesitant…to meet new people," Freddy added. "It…may be so that she won't make an appearance tonight."

"That's fine," Zach said. "I can understand if she won't." He wasn't lying—although it _would_ be nice if he were to meet her at some point.

He was barely done talking when Bonnie's gaze was drawn by something. Zach followed her gaze, looking over his shoulder to see three figures emerge from the other end of the hallway behind him. There was only a small amount of light, but he managed to recognize Douglas, Foxy, and…another Foxy…?

He blinked. All he saw was a bunch of silhouettes approaching from the hallway. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to get a better look at them, but to no avail. Was this a trick of the light or something?

A few giggles from the girls at the table made him turn back to them. He met their amused faces with his own questioning one, silently asking for answers to his unspoken questions. The girls remained silent, however—leading Zach to turn to the silhouettes again.

Only when they stepped into the light did Zach confirm that he was not going insane. He blinked in surprise upon seeing that the third, unidentified figure was indeed a fox, yet looked quite different from Foxy herself. Their body colors, clothing styles—even their general facial expressions were different. The only similarity was their matching eye color.

When Zach looked into the eyes of the white she-fox, he realized something that he decided he should remember: she didn't seem to share Foxy's confidence. The way she constantly averted her gaze—which, Zach noted, was quite similar to how Douglas reacted whenever he met someone he didn't know well—allowed him to confirm that she was probably a bit shyer than the others. He'd have to be careful not to make her feel awkward or anything.

"There she is!" Chica grinned. "Zach, meet Mangle—Foxy's twin sister."

Mangle gave a shy nod and a whisper of a greeting. Next to her, Foxy grinned and gave the white she-fox a slap on the shoulder.

"She ain't too talkative," Foxy said to Zach. Zach nodded before looking at Mangle again.

"Hi," he said to the white she-fox. "How're you doing?"

* * *

Douglas himself had firsthand experienced how easily his brother could remove awkwardness or uncertainty from a situation. Zach radiated confidence, yet his voice, presence, and humor tended to have a calming effect on people. He had almost always been the one who convinced Douglas to talk about the bullying that occurred at his school—something their parents seldom accomplished.

Douglas could see that same charisma when Zach talked to Mangle. Something that made her less shy and more talkative… Well, _slightly_ more talkative. She still remained timid and a bit nervous throughout the whole conversation—something even Zachary Goodwin couldn't completely remove.

Still…Zach had needed mere minutes to accomplish what Douglas had achieved in two to three weeks.

Douglas did his best to force down his returning jealousy. Eventually, he excused himself and went to the kitchen for a coffee, earning an ashamed gaze from Mangle. The guard felt a sting upon seeing that; it wasn't her fault that he couldn't stand not being confident, and seeing that she blamed herself was painful to him.

Upon reaching the coffee machine, he sighed as he waited for the plastic cup to be filled. When that was done, he proceeded to grab it.

He had barely lifted his hand when he sensed a presence behind him, making him freeze up.

Silence.

Douglas soon felt his heart thumping in his throat. Was that a robber? Were they waiting for him to turn around?

No, that couldn't be the case. With how much time Douglas was taking in grabbing his coffee, they would have attacked by now…unless, maybe, the unidentified person was _specifically_ here to kill him. Was he being held at gunpoint as he stood there?

Douglas' eyes gravitated towards where his taser and baton were held. If he was fast enough, maybe… But was it worth the risk?

He grimaced slightly. _I'm probably dead either way._

With a surprisingly swift motion, the guard's slightly lifted hand went to his baton. Drawing it, he turned around and proceeded to smash it against his opponent's head…only for an impossibly strong hand to close around his wrist, stopping him.

For a moment, Douglas felt more panic rise. It subsided when he realized who actually stood next to him, upon which he sighed—partially relieved, partially annoyed.

"Spring," he finally said, keeping his voice neutral. "Uh…could you please refrain from sneaking up on me in the future?"

"Sorry," Spring said, sounding regretful. "I, ah, thought…"

Douglas tilted his head.

"I…" the bunny continued, "thought I'd be able to help by…doing that."

"… What do you mean?" the guard asked.

Spring looked him in the eye. "You've been off today, Doug," she softly said. "Golden told me what's going on with you."

Yet another sigh escaped Douglas' throat as he finally hung his baton back on his belt. "I'm fine. I've had this conversation with Golden, Mangle, _and_ Foxy already, and I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine."

He tried to walk past Spring, but she stopped him. Preparing for a lecture, Douglas stood back to lean against the kitchen counter next to the coffee machine.

But the lecture never came. Instead, Spring hesitated before saying, "You were pretty good with that baton. I probably wouldn't've been able to stop it if I hadn't expected it."

Douglas didn't move. He didn't speak. But Spring could tell that something behind his eyes had changed. She gave a small smile and a nod before turning around and walking out of the doorway, her dark clothing almost making her invisible in the dim light.

Having forgotten about his coffee, Douglas pensively stared at the open doorway where the golden bunny had gone through. Had she really meant that? Could he possibly have been able to stop a robber? Sure, she'd been able to knock him out from behind easily before he'd made any movements, but if the situation were different…? Did he actually have the necessary strength and speed to…?

Or was she just saying that to make him more confident…? She'd looked pretty honest about it, and during his time as a night guard at Freddy's, Douglas had _never_ had any experience where Spring lied about something as far as he could tell. She'd even taken pity on him a few times, warning him about some prank or trap Chica had readied for him.

Still feeling unsure, the guard absently grabbed his coffee. He was going to have to think about this…

* * *

 **Next chapter will (probably) be the epilogue.**


	10. Epilogue - Plans for the future

**Luiginaryworker553:** _Does that mean you're writing some stuff alongside your FNAF story…? Well, either way, for all the difficulty and annoyance that come with so many stories to work on, I can find some solace in the knowledge that I'm not the only one who has to deal with it._

 **Zach Smith:** _Thank you! Merry Christmas!_

 **And, of course, Merry Christmas to everyone else out there!**

 **Also, I'm sorry if the epilogue is too short. I didn't really want to prolong it.**

* * *

 _Epilogue – Plans for the future_

Nothing really exciting or groundbreaking happened for the rest of the night, and before everyone knew it, it was time for the two humans to leave. When Freddy informed the group that they had five minutes left, Douglas had immediately made his way to the office to collect his things, leaving Zach to share some parting words with the girls. The older man quickly did so before heading for the front door with his younger brother, accompanied by Chica.

"I hope you'll visit again sometime," the chicken sincerely said to Zach. "One thing you and Dougey have in common is that you're both nice to be around."

Douglas blushed upon hearing that.

Zach, on the other hand, gave a smile. "Thanks," he replied. "I will probably be back someday. If Griffiths gives me permission to do so, that is."

"H-he's a reasonable guy," Douglas cut in. "I'm sure he'll let you."

"Speaking of which," Chica said, "it's probably best if you don't mention anything about what happens here at night. No matter how many guards have already run away, Kyle never found out about our sentience—and we want to keep it that way."

"Got it," Zach said. He hesitated. "But…don't you think he _should_ find out at some point?"

"Maybe, but not now. He'd probably freak out. Maybe take us to a warehouse or something." Chica shivered. "I don't feel like being experimented on anytime soon."

The way she said that made Douglas look at her. It was obvious that she wasn't kidding: she was sincerely afraid of what Griffiths might do if he were to find out about the anime-tronics. Not that he blamed her. Griffiths was a good guy, but seeing supposedly 'normal' robots walk and talk on their own would probably do something to him. And this time, it wouldn't be like any frightened guard: with Griffiths' status as the manager, he'd be able to close Freddy's down for good—which he would undoubtedly do if he suspected that something dangerous was going on.

"Right," Zach said. "Sorry. I completely forgot about that detail."

"It's fine," Chica said. "Now, you've got two minutes left before six. For all you know, the day guard could be standing at the front door right now. Which reminds me…" She turned back to the stage. "I gotta go. Bye, guys."

The humans nodded, after which they proceeded to exit the Restaurant.

* * *

"I'll just tell Griffiths I didn't see shit," Zach lazily said as he and Douglas stepped in the car. "Give him the good ol' 'nothing's going on here'."

Douglas blinked, but started the car and drove out of the parking lot with little delay. Zach turned his head to him.

"You know," Zach said, "I _do_ owe you one, bro."

Surprised to hear that, Douglas glanced at him. Zach 'owed him one'? "What do you mean?" he asked.

Zach turned back to the front window. "Well, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't've met the girls. _You_ introduced them to me. If you weren't there, I'd have thought I'd gone mad. Or maybe I'd yell at Griffiths for trying to have me killed by a bunch of robots. Instead, I made friends.

"If I were alone, I'd probably have tried to run for the front door first chance I got," he continued. "I'd be scarred for life, avoiding Freddy's at all costs, et cetera… I'd have ended up like your predecessors, basically. I guess I'll think twice now before accusing everyone of attempted murder."

That made Douglas think. Zach was right. If it weren't for the guard, he'd never have had the chance to find those unique friends at Freddy's. It was Douglas who'd assured him that the anime-tronics weren't dangerous.

Realizing that made him feel…good. He might not be as confident or charismatic as Zach, but if he hadn't been there, this night would've been very different. Of course, he had only been able to help because he knew more about the anime-tronics than Zach…but did that really matter? He did save the situation from turning into a terrifying experience for his brother and a distressing one for the girls.

He remembered his own first night. It had ended well, but the experience of being chased by two nearly invulnerable animatronics wasn't the most pleasant one a man could have.

"Ah, sorry," Zach suddenly said. "I think I was rambling a bit. I'm not used to being this active at this time and it takes a toll on my brain."

Douglas smiled at that. "Now you know why I always sleep until, like, two in the afternoon." He glanced at his brother again. "Who's the lazy one now, huh?"

They both laughed to that, with Douglas feeling better than he had mere minutes before. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps being praised by the person he envied just helped that much.

* * *

 **Later that day**

 _"_ _So there is nothing worth reporting?"_ Griffiths asked through the phone. Zach almost nodded.

"Nope. All's fine, sir. Guess Douglas' attachment's just connected to his fellow employees—and maybe the paycheck." He winked at his younger brother, who silently shook his head in disapproval. Griffiths, of course, didn't know Douglas was with Zach in the room, and that was probably for the best.

 _"_ _Good. Still, I'll be sure to keep an eye on his mental health in the future. I doubt it'll show any signs of detriment, but it's always better to be safe, wouldn't you agree?"_

"Of course, sir. By the way, I'd like to apologize for my asshole behavior when I first contacted you."

 _"_ _That's quite alright, Mr. Goodwin. You were simply concerned about your brother."_

"So we're cool? Cool." He grinned at Douglas, who once again shook his head. On the other side of the line, he heard Griffiths let out a few amused chuckles. "Welp, I'm sorry to be rude, but I'm going to have to go now."

 _"_ _Again, quite alright. But before you go, could you please deliver a message to Douglas for me?"_

"… Okay…? What's going on?"

 _"_ _It's about the Restaurant."_

That turned Zach's face serious. Was the Restaurant going to be closed down or something? That better not be the case.

"Okay…?" he repeated. Douglas—who sensed something was going on—frowned.

 _"_ _Well, there is no complete certainty yet,"_ the manager said, _"but we may move to a new location sometime in the near future. We're planning on an upgrade—larger building, expanded menus, more animatronic performers—and I want Douglas to know that Freddy's may change its address soon."_

That completely caught Zach off-guard. Freddy's was moving? How were the girls going to react to that? And…more animatronic performers?

That almost made him freeze up. More sentient anime-tronics to join the gang…?

 _"_ _The new address isn't too far away,"_ Griffiths continued, _"but Douglas will need to be ready nonetheless. I don't want this to come out of nowhere. Could you please inform him?"_

"… Sure, sir," Zach said, still a little shocked. "I'll, ah, make sure he hears it."

 _"_ _Thank you."_

As the conversation ended, Zach looked at Douglas' worried expression.

"What's going on?" the younger one eventually asked.

Zach inhaled. "Well…they're, ah, probably going to go through an upgrade sometime soon."

Douglas' expression turned curious. "An upgrade…?"

"A different address—a better location…more animatronics."

The guard's eyes widened. "More animatronics?"

"Now, I don't know if they'll be sentient…but they could be." He shrugged. "Just…be careful, 'kay? Maybe these new ones won't turn out as friendly as the girls at the current location."

Douglas let a hand run through his hair. He let out a sigh, not sure what to think about the news. Eventually, he nodded. "I'll be careful."

"Good." After a short while, Zach grabbed his jacket. "Welp…I gotta go. It was good to see ya again, Doug."

Douglas nodded in an almost solemn way. "Likewise, Zach."

The older man gave a nod as well. "See ya."

And with that, the two brothers parted ways.

* * *

 **I'm keeping the doors open for a sequel. I already have some plans for the plot. Despite this, it's probably going to take a while before I'll even begin to write it. It's kind of a busy time for me.**

 **Don't expect too many updates of any of my stories in the near future; I've got a lot on my mind, and that's not going to change anytime soon. College will see to that, I just know it.**

 **In any case, have a good day.**

 **~F**


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